Yellow-white subgiant · Boötes

Merga

Also known as: 38 Boötis (38 Boo), HIP 72487

mag 5.8160 light-years

About

Merga (38 Boötis) is a yellow-white subgiant of magnitude 5.8 in Boötes, about 160 light-years away.

Merga is in the constellation Boötes.
Best evenings: around mid-June it is highest at about 9 pm (10 pm in summer time); a month earlier, two hours later.
Where on Earth: it is seen well, at least 10° up, from north of 34° S.

When it rises and sets tonight, how high it climbs and how much the Moon gets in the way are worked out in your browser for your place.

EyesNeeds a dark sky away from city lights.
Binoculars (10×50)A sharp point; binoculars bring out its colour and the fainter stars around it.
Telescope (6–8 inch)Still a point of light at any magnification — stars are too far away to show a disc. Low in the sky, bright stars twinkle and flash colours.

Stars look the same in any instrument: brighter and sharper, but never bigger.

Proper name	Merga
Designation	38 Boötis (38 Boo)
Hipparcos number	HIP 72487
Type	Yellow-white subgiant
Spectral type	F7IVw
Colour	YellowB−V colour index 0.48
Magnitude	5.8The smaller the number, the brighter.
Distance	160 light-yearsThe light you see left it around 1870.
Proper motion	0.078″ per year across the sky
Constellation	Boötes
Right ascension (J2000)	14h 49m 18.7s
Declination (J2000)	+46° 06′ 58″

Star data: HYG Database by David Nash, CC BY-SA 4.0. All data sources →